Gripped Magazine
Epic Highline in Patagonia with Cerro Torre as Backdrop
Earlier this month, a team of climbers rigged a 90-metre highline in Patagonia, set against the dramatic backdrop of several iconic peaks. According to available records, this marks the first highline ever installed around the legendary peaks near Cerro Torre.
The team of four, Lukas Irmler, Antonia Rüede-Passul, Leonardo Ferrari, and Miquel Sixto, climbed the 450-metre 5.10 route Cara Este on Aguja de la S to fix the line, carrying 18 kg of gear to the summit.
Though Patagonia is notorious for fierce winds, the climbers were fortunate to enjoy near-perfect conditions for their walk on March 6. Rüede-Passul and Irmler spent several weeks scouting the ideal location, noting, “There are even crazier ideas for future lines.”
The world record for the highest highline ever walked was set by Friedi Kühne, who in 2024 crossed between two hot air balloons 2,580 metres above the ground.
Chris Carpenter, one of the earliest recorded highliners, recalled the early days of highlining for Sportverein Slackline as a mix of experimentation and risk. “As you can guess, highlining involved walking slackline up high,” he explained. In the early 1980s, Jeff Elington and Adam Grolkowski had attempted long-distance cable walks, but the cable had proved too difficult without guy lines. This had motivated Carpenter and his friends to explore slackline as an alternative.
In the fall of 1983, Carpenter, 17, and Scott Balcom, 20, set up their first highline at a freeway overpass they had called The Arches near the Rose Bowl in California. With help from “Ironman Rob” Slater, Ric Phiegh, and Chuck Tucker, they rigged a 2-inch wide slackline 80 feet above the ground and 22 feet long. Carpenter remembered testing it: “Secured to the slackline with a swami belt and tether, I made it out three steps before I was grabbing the line and swinging into big air.” Scott improvised a guideline above the line, which allowed him to successfully complete the first-ever highline walk.
Encouraged by their success, the team returned over the next year to practice for a much bigger goal: the Lost Arrow Spire in Yosemite, a 2,900-foot-high traverse. Carpenter described the first attempt in 1984 as harrowing: Scott made several tries, only to fall while secured by a safety line. “It proved scary enough for me just watching it happen,” Carpenter admitted.
In 1985, Scott returned with a new approach, mental visualization, line perception, and practice, and successfully completed the Lost Arrow Spire on July 13. Carpenter noted the significance: “Scott Balcom had successfully walked the Lost Arrow Spire… inspiring the growth of highlining on slackline as we now know it.”
1985 Lost Arrow Spire Highilne
Carpenter also highlighted the next generation of highliners, particularly Darrin Carter. Witnessing Scott’s initial attempts, Carter became obsessed with highlining and eventually mastered the Lost Arrow Spire himself in 1993.
By 1995, training at the Fins in Tucson, Arizona, Carter advanced the sport further, including walking the Spire multiple times, turning around on the line, and eventually performing unprotected walks. “Imagine yourself 2,900 feet in the air… walking for the sport of it with nothing to catch you if you fell. Now that is intense,” Carpenter said.
Carpenter ended his story with: “As slackliners, we balanced with focus and purpose in pursuit of confidence and accomplishment… Discovery of the boundaries between on and off helped everyone in the long run.”
Friedi Kühne Lost Arrow Spire Highline Free Solo
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